A Christmas Wish
by Cocacoriola
Summary: Yet another story about how James and Lily got together, Christmas edition.
1. Chapter 1

**A Christmas Wish**

**Chapter One – Thursday, December 1****st**

_1977_

Lily Evans sat in class, diligently taking notes like the good student she was. It was hard to concentrate on Professor McGonagall when behind her, James Potter was poking her consistently, hissing, "Evans!" She was about to turn around and hit him upside the head with her thick Transfiguration book when Professor McGonagall ended her speech. She cleared her throat and the class turned to her.

"Now," she said, "as you all should know, this Christmas Eve, we are having a Christmas Ball." She paused while a bit of chatter broke out. She glared at the class until they fell silent again. "I expect nothing but the best from my students, especially you seventh years. You need to set the example for the younger students."

Lily's friend Marlene raised her hand. "Professor? Is this ball mandatory?" Marlene hated dancing.

"No, Miss Murray," Professor McGonagall sighed, "But we do expect many of the students to attend. You'd be missing out." Marlene shrugged. Their other friend, Alice, looked delighted. She liked anything that her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, could take her to. In fact, Alice liked anything, period. She was an enthusiastic person who could always find the good in something. Unfortunately for Lily, this meant listening to her talk about why James Potter really wasn't such a bad person and that Lily should really consider going on a date with him, because who knows, maybe someday they could end up married with kids. Lily snorted at the thought. Impossible.

McGonagall continued with her speech on the Christmas Ball, but Lily couldn't hear her. Instead, she was too busy trying to block out the voice whispering in her ear yet again. James was leaning over her shoulder, talking quietly in her ear. "Hey, Evans," he breathed, "Wanna go to the ball with me?"

"Not a chance," Lily replied easily, turning to face McGonagall, her thick red hair falling over her shoulder in a curtain of fire. James stared at her for a moment before leaning towards her again. "Why not?" he asked.

"Because," she said, "You are an arrogant, bossy, conceited, idiotic, bullying toe-rag."

James blinked. "Is that all?"

"No," Lily replied. "I have a list of reasons."

"Like what?"

"None of your business," Lily snapped.

"Mr. Potter and Miss Evans," McGonagall said wearily. "Please, restrain yourselves."

"Sorry, Professor," Lily murmured, flushing with embarrassment and anger. She bent over her notes again, as McGonagall added a few extra things to her speech. When class finally ended, Lily packed up quickly and swung her bag over her shoulder, exiting the classroom beside Alice and Marlene. James followed closely behind them with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

"Evans!" James called when they were out in the hallway.

"Not going to happen," Lily replied breezily over her shoulder. Alice giggled, glancing back to see James' reaction. Like always, he looked disappointed for a split second, and then bounced back with more enthusiasm than ever. The group walked down the hallway, around the corner, down a flight of stairs, and towards the dungeons for potions.

Lily, Alice, and Marlene shared their potions table with the only Hufflepuff in the class, Kevin Markson, while James, Sirius, and Remus got their table to themselves because of the odd number of students. Lily sat down and began digging through her stuffed bag for her potions book when she heard her name again. "What?" she snapped, turning to look at James.

"Can I see that list now?" he asked innocently.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Why?" she asked, "So you can 'change' yourself?"

James shrugged. "Maybe. Mostly I just want to see what you think about me."

"You know what I think about you." Lily let out an aggravated sigh.

"Really?" James teased. "Are you sure you're not just pretending?"

Lily was not amused. She ignored his comment and turned back to her bag, pulling out her potions book. As she set it down on the table, Professor Slughorn entered from his office, looking cheery, as usual.

"Good morning, students!" He beamed around the classroom.

"Good morning, Professor Slughorn," they chorused dutifully.

"I'd like you all to flip to page 276," he said. "Today, we will be trying a Memory Potion. The student who brews it the best will be receiving a prize. We shall be testing our potions, so please make sure you do it as close to correctly as possible."

Lily glanced at Marlene and Alice, smiling. Potions was her best subject. Her friends looked back at her. They knew she was going to win this contest. Others, however, weren't as confident. "Hey, Evans!" Sirius called. "Betcha Moony can beat you."

Lily looked to Remus, whom she was friends with despite James and Sirius. "We'll see," she challenged. Remus smiled back. Slughorn, who had ignored the exchange, called, "Gather your ingredients and you may begin! You have exactly one hour."

Lily and the rest of the class shoved their chairs back and hurried to the ingredients cupboard. She grabbed as much as she could carry and returned to her seat. Luckily, she had everything else she needed in her bag. She began dumping the ingredients into her cauldron, waving her wand cheerily above it, determined to be the winner that day. Every so often, she would look over to Remus, who seemed to be having as much trouble as Lily; none.

When there was only five minutes left, Lily let out a breath of relief. She'd just finished, while Remus was still working. However, he was finished within seconds. He and Lily exchanged smiles. A few minutes later, Professor Slughorn clapped his hands together. "Time's up!" he called. "Time for the testing. Who would like to go first?"

Lily threw her hand into the air. Slughorn smiled when he saw her, but his eyes moved around the room. His gaze slid past Lily, Marlene, Alice, and Kevin, landing with a gleam on James. "Mr. Potter," he said smoothly, "How about you?"

James shifted uncomfortably. "Alright," he said. He scooped a spoonful of his potion out of his cauldron, and Slughorn took it. He sipped it carefully, making a face as he swallowed. The class waited patiently, and Slughorn shook his head. "Not quite right. But a good try."

Twenty minutes later, it was down to Remus and Lily. Professor Slughorn, having high hopes for Lily, moved over to Remus first. He took a mouthful of the potion and waited. He screwed up his face as he concentrated, then shook his head sadly. "It was so close," he murmured. "I could feel it. But I couldn't remember. Truly sorry."

And then he turned to Lily, a bright smile lighting his face. He took a spoonful of her potion and swallowed it quickly. His smile began to fade as he realized that nothing had happened. Lily let out a sigh, but suddenly his face lit up again. "I remember!" he exclaimed. "Edward Johnson was his name. Such a nice boy." He became lost in thought, and the class exchanged confused glances. He shook his head. "Well, Miss Evans," he said, "I guess this means you've won my prize."

"What is it, Professor?" she asked politely. Slughorn waddled over to his desk and took out a huge bar of Honeydukes chocolate. He took it back to Lily and handed it to her. "Don't forget to share with your friends," he added with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Thank you, Professor." Lily smiled and stowed the chocolate in her back along with the rest of her things. The bell rang and the class was excused. Lily, Marlene, and Alice went upstairs to the Gryffindor Tower for their free period. When they sat down on the couch in the common room, Lily pulled the chocolate bar out of her bag and split it in to three pieces. They swallowed the chocolate quickly, not bothering to savor the taste, and Lily was left feeling disappointed when it was gone.

"Honeydukes makes the best chocolate," Alice sighed. Marlene nodded in agreement. They were interrupted when the portrait hole swung open and James entered, Sirius and Remus at his heels, as always.

"Good job, Lily," Remus grinned. "I'll beat you next time."

"I'd like to see you try," Lily replied.

"So, Evans," James interrupted. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the dance with me?"

"Positive," Lily said.

"Why not?"

"Because," Lily sighed. She tried a new tactic. "I don't like dancing. I'm not any good at it."

"Come on," James scoffed. "I bet you're a great dancer."

Lily shook her head. "I always manage to embarrass myself when I'm dancing." James opened his mouth again, but Lily cut him off. "I am _not_ going to the dance with you, so stop asking."

James looked dejected. "Fine," he said. He turned and climbed the stairs to his dormitory, throwing a pained looked at Lily as he went. Remus and Sirius exchanged glances before following him. Alice and Marlene turned to Lily.

"Maybe you should give him a chance," Alice said tentatively.

"No," Lily said firmly.

"Why?" Marlene asked, leaning back and crossing her arms.

"Because he's annoying. Just forget it."

"Can't you at least try?" Alice pleaded.

"Not going to happen," Lily said. Ignoring her friends' protests, she stood up, slipped her bag over her shoulders, and left the common room, so she could study in the library without any distractions.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

At dinner that night, Lily was sitting with Marlene and Alice. Her friends were chattering about something she wasn't bothering to pay attention to. Instead, a book lay open in front of her, her eyes scanning the pages eagerly. It was the newest book in her favorite muggle series. Mrs. Evans had sent it to her as an early Christmas present.

Lily's reading was interrupted when James plopped down into the empty seat beside her. Lily closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. She turned to James. "What do you want?" she asked. She was itching to get back to her book.

"Do you want to go to the dance with me now?" he asked, grinning.

"No." Lily glared at him. "And I'm never going to. So stop asking."

"I'm not giving up that easily," James replied. "You are going to the dance with me, Lily Evans, if it's the last thing I do."

"If I go to the dance with you, it _will_ be the last thing you do," Lily threatened before storming away.

**A/N: Well, there's chapter one. What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A Christmas Wish**

**Chapter Two – Monday, December 5****th**

_1977_

The following Monday during break, Lily, Marlene, and Alice were seated in arm chairs in the Gryffindor common room, discussing the upcoming dance. As Lily had found out that morning, the Head Boy and Girl had to go to the ball. She and Alice were trying to convince Marlene to join them. "Oh, just come with!" Alice pleaded. "It will be fun."

"I don't dance." Marlene shook her head, chestnut brown hair falling into her face. She shoved it away impatiently, her brown eyes hard as she looked at her friends. "You know that."

"But you might still have fun with us," Lily pointed out.

"I don't dance," she repeated. "Besides, no one is going to ask me."

"You don't need a date to go to a dance," Lily objected. Marlene gave her a look.

"Alice is going with Frank, and chances are you're probably going to be asked by someone that you'll end up going with," Marlene said.

"No one is going to ask me except James," Lily replied. "And I am never going to the ball with him. You don't need anyone but your friends."

Marlene grimaced. "I still don't really want to make a fool of myself in front of everyone."

"You won't make a fool of yourself," Alice interjected. "No is going to be paying any attention to you."

"Then why should I go?" Marlene asked.

Lily and Alice exchanged glances. They could tell they were losing the battle. "Fine," Lily sighed. "I give up." _For now_, she added silently to herself. She was going to make Marlene go to the ball with her and Alice, whether Marlene liked it or not. There was no way her best friend was getting left behind, alone, on Christmas Eve.

Silently, the girls turned to the homework they were supposed to be doing. Lily was struggling with Transfiguration, as she always was. No matter how many notes she took, or how close attention she paid, Lily was always left with almost no clue what to do. Luckily, Marlene and Alice were relatively good at the subject and could help her out. Lily scanned her Transfiguration book and let out a frustrated sigh. "This doesn't make any sense!" she complained, tempted to throw her book at the wall. It was so unfair. She was good at every other subject and practically breezed through the classes. Why did Transfiguration have to be so hard?

"You could always get a tutor," Alice said lightly.

"Like who?"

"James is always willing to help," Alice replied, trying to sound casual as she flipped through her book.

Lily shook her head immediately. "I don't care how good at Transfiguration he is," she said. "I would rather fail than ask him to help me."

Marlene raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked.

Lily's shoulders sagged. "I guess not," she admitted. "But I'm still not asking him for help."

"It's your grades," Marlene shrugged.

Lily went back to her homework, determined to struggle her way through it without any help. After about five minutes, she decided it was useless and closed the book with relief. "That was torturous."

Alice looked at her, a look of mockery on her face. "Lily Evans, I had no idea you hated homework."

"I thought it was your favorite hobby," Marlene added teasingly.

"Oh, be quiet," Lily mumbled. She shoved her school things into her bag and then looked at the clock on the wall. They only had ten minutes left of their free period, and then it was off to History of Magic. It wasn't enjoyable, but at least it was a subject Lily was good at. It was all about paying attention. Professor Binns gave you everything you needed to know, and nothing more or less. So every student was set, as long as they could concentrate on his dreary voice. It was a skill Lily had acquired over the years. Going to class would give her some confidence back.

The bell rang to signal that the period was over, and Lily separated from her friends, who were going off to Care for Magical Creatures instead. Anything to get out of History of Magic, she supposed. Lily was just taking anything she found practical. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do when she got out of Hogwarts. Everyone else seemed to have a plan, but Lily couldn't think of a single thing she'd like to do when she left Hogwarts.

When Lily got to class, leaning on the wall outside the room was James. Lily rolled her eyes, passing him without as much as a glance.

"Wait," he called, "Evans!"

Lily turned on her heel to face him. "What?" she asked.

"Thought about my offer?"

"No," Lily growled.

James was unfazed. "Wanna go with me now?"

"Not if the world's population depended on it," Lily replied.

He repeated his words from a few days before. "I'll get you to go to the dance with me if it's the last thing I do."

"If I end up at a ball with you, if _will_ be the last thing you do," Lily muttered. She didn't want to hear anymore. She turned and entered the classroom, thankful that he couldn't follow her in, or risk being lectured for hours by Professor Binns. Time didn't matter to go a ghost. Better yet, he would do it in front of the entire class. It was almost enough to make Lily wish he _had_ followed her inside.

The hour passed more quickly that Lily had expected it to, startling her when the bell rang to signal lunch. Lily threw her possessions hurriedly into her bag and went down to the Great Hall to eat. She met Alice and Marlene, sitting down across from them. "James is _really_ starting to get on my nerves," she growled, stabbing a piece of lettuce with her fork. Her earlier irritation had returned now that she had nothing else to concentrate on.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Really? I would have thought that happened years ago," she said sarcastically.

"Fine. James is about _this_ close to me shoving him off the top of Gryffindor Tower," Lily corrected, holding her thumb and pointer finger about a centimeter apart. "He's deluded himself into thinking that I want to date him."

"Lils, he deluded himself into thinking that years ago," Alice said. "I think you're a little late on grasping that."

Lily shook her head, but not in the way that she was disagreeing with Alice. She couldn't believe it had gone this far. "How many times have I told him no in the past seven years?" she asked. Neither of her friends could answer; the number was too high. "He just won't take no for an answer. Maybe he'll accept it when I break his jaw to go with it."

Alice snorted. "You'd never break his jaw."

"You don't think I'd punch him?" Lily asked.

"No," Alice said, shaking her head, "I just don't think you'd be able to break him."

"You could always just go for a curse or two," Marlene suggested. "You're good at that, at least."

"Don't give me any ideas," Lily replied grimly. "Or you'll see him tomorrow with tentacles growing out of his face." As she said this, she looked around for him. She didn't see him at the Gryffindor table, so she turned back to her food with relief. Maybe she could actually get through a meal in peace.

When lunch was over, Lily and Marlene got ready for Charms, while Alice skipped off to Herbology. Charms was Lily's favorite class, except for the fact that James was in it. She was surprised he'd made any of the N.E.W.T.s classes at all. Or, more specifically, she was surprised his brain ever got used for anything academic.

In the Charms classroom, Lily sat down in her usual seat, Marlene on one side, a Ravenclaw girl on her other. Behind her was Remus, to the left of his was Sirius, and to his right was James. Lily could hear him whispering her name while Professor Flitwick was lecturing on the proper way to do the newest spell they were working on.

Lily did her best to ignore him, but it wasn't easy. She had the urge to turn around and yell at him. This wouldn't have helped, though. James wanted a reaction out of her, and he didn't care if it was positive or negative, as long as he had her attention. That was another thing Lily hated about James. He was always begging her to go out with him, claiming that he was in love with her, when truthfully he only wanted her because he couldn't have her.

James gave up when they began working on their new charm. It took Lily a mere six minutes to complete the spell perfectly. Remus finished just behind her. They exchanged grins and relaxed while the rest of the class struggled to perfect it. Or, in a few cases, do it at all. Professor Flitwick gave them both a broad smile as he circled the classroom, giving advice to those still working.

"Hey, Lily," Remus said, leaning forward.

"Yeah?"

"I want to talk to you after class, alright?"

"Sure." Lily's eyebrows came together in confusion, and she looked at Remus. He simply smiled and turned to help Sirius, giving nothing away. Now that she was anxious to get out of the room and find out what Remus had to say, time began to pass slowly.

Finally, the hour was up, and they were freed. Lily hung back to wait for Remus, ushering Marlene ahead of her. When Remus exited the room with James and Sirius, he sent them away, promising he'd catch up with them later. The two of them game him suspicious looks, but left.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Lily asked, falling into step beside Remus. She adjusted her the strap of her bag while she waited for him to respond.

"Well," he said slowly, picking his words carefully, "I just think that maybe you should think more about James' offer."

Lily's eyes narrowed and her face became an expressionless mask. "Not you, too. I am never, _never_ going to go out with James."

"Please, Lily," Remus pleaded, "Give him a chance. You have no idea-" He halted, as if what he was about to say was something he shouldn't reveal.

"What?"

"Nothing." Remus shook his head as Lily opened her mouth to protest. "He really isn't a bad guy. He just seems that way until you get to know him."

Lily snorted. "I'm not planning on getting to know him any time soon."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're an extremely stubborn person?" Remus asked.

"Constantly," Lily said dryly.

Remus sighed, looking defeated. "If there's nothing I can say..."

"Nothing," Lily replied immediately.

"All right, you win. I'll quit bugging you about it. But Lily," he said, his eyes still pleading. "I really think you should give him a chance."

"Not in a million years," she said coolly. "I'm not about to fall for his stupid act and get hurt, like the other forty girls he's dated."

Remus shook his head again, looking sad. "You have no idea."

**A/N: So there's chapter two. Not sure about it... Leave me a review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And here is Chapter Three**

**A Christmas Wish**

**Chapter Three – Saturday, December 10****th**

_1977_

_In the Great Hall, the ceiling enchantment had changed from the usual starry night, to a silky blackness with flakes of powdery white snow falling, vanishing before it could reach the candles that floated ten feet in air. On the floor, the tables had been removed, replaced with smaller, covered tables. Couples whirled around the room, smiles on the faces of all._

_Lily was dressed in a long, flowing maroon dress, her flaming hair pinned up in a mass of red curls. Her emerald green eyes sparkled, the tiniest hint of make-up on her face. With a smile on her face, she looked even prettier than usual. She was dancing, too, in the arms of a mysterious boy._

_They twirled around and his face was visible. Lily Evans was dancing with James Potter. But this James seemed different from the James Lily truly knew. He seemed older, more mature, as he spun Lily around on the dance floor. He held her, rather possessively and protectively, as they moved together as one._

_The music ended and they slowed to a stop. Lily was breathing heavily, looking more pleased than she'd ever been in her life. James dropped his arms from around her, and took her hand in his. They smiled at one another, their affection for one another so blindingly obvious that people around them had to turn away. James led Lily away from the dance floor, his warm arm around her waist._

Lily woke up, blinking rapidly. For a few seconds her mind was blank; but then the dream came flooding back to her and she shivered in disgust. She had to admit that while the dream James had seemed to be perfect, there was no way the real James would ever end up that way. Especially not in just two weeks. The notion was impossible. She looked at the clock on her bedside table and was surprised to realize how early it was. It was cold, too.

Lily lay back down, her flaming hair spread out across the white pillow, and she yanked the covers up under her chin, snuggling into her bed again. She began to feel sleepy again, and she closed her eyes, but she didn't sleep. Now that she was wide awake, she wouldn't be able to sleep again. But half-sleeping was just as good.

This time, Lily didn't dream about anything. Her mind was a safe, black, blankness. She stayed like this for an hour or so, until she heard rustling on her left, which meant that Alice was getting up. Lily threw back the covers and sat up, yawning. Alice waved to her silently, trying to keep it down so they wouldn't wake Marlene or their roommates, Julie and Sophia. Lily made her bed hurriedly and then changed into jeans and an old sweater. Alice changed as well, though she put on nicer clothes, like she always did.

The two headed downstairs to the common room to sit on the couch in front of the fire while they waited for Marlene to wake up. It was a tradition they'd formed when they were still in their first year. Marlene liked to sleep in, and Lily and Alice liked to relax before going to get breakfast. By the time they were hungry, Marlene was usually awake. If she wasn't, they would wake her up, despite all her threats.

Forty-five minutes later, Marlene was awake and dressed, and being pulled down to the Great Hall by Alice and Lily. She grumbled about still being tired, though Alice and Lily hadn't woken her. When they sat down, Marlene quickly scooped as much food onto her plate as it could hold. She always felt better after eating.

"What should I wear to the ball?" Alice asked, twirling her spoon around in a bowl of oatmeal.

"Not this again," Marlene moaned. Alice made a face at her. "If I have to listen to you talk about the ball until the day it happens, could you at least _try_ to keep it to once a day?"

"Don't forget her going on about what happened when it's over," Lily pointed out.

Alice's face fell. "I'm sorry I'm so annoying," she sniffed.

Marlene threw an arm around Alice's shoulders. "We're just teasing you," she said.

"I know." Alice flashed a smile at them. She took a quick bite of oatmeal, grimaced, and reached for some brown sugar to add to it.

"So what are we doing today?" Marlene asked.

"Homework?" Lily suggested. Even after spending hours doing it the night before, the girls still had a load of work to do by Monday.

"That's all we ever do," Alice said. "Can't we do something fun for once?"

"Like what?" Lily asked.

"We could go to Hogsmeade," Marlene said, suddenly excited.

"How?"

"Lucky for you," a voice said in Lily's ear, "I know just how to get there." She felt someone sit down next to her, and turned to find Sirius beside her.

Lily made a face. "What do you want, Black?"

"I couldn't help but overhear your dilemma," Sirius said, "and I thought I would offer my services."

"At what charge?" Marlene asked grimly.

"Oh, nothing," Sirius said, a smile crossing his face. "Just a date to the dance."

"With me?" Marlene looked shocked and disgusted at the same time.

Sirius nodded happily.

"No way."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because you're the last person I would ever go to the ball with. If I wanted to go to the ball at all," Marlene snorted. "Which I don't."

Sirius shrugged. "I guess I'll just go with one of the dozens of girls dying for me to ask them."

"Fine," Marlene said. She gave Sirius a little wave. "See you."

"Actually," Sirius said, "I think I'll take you to Hogsmeade anyways. I'm feeling... nice today."

Marlene started to protest, but Alice clapped her hand over mouth before she could say anything. "Really?" she asked. "You'd do that for us?"

"Sure," Sirius said, shrugging. "It's no big deal."

Lily looked at him suspiciously. "What's in it for you?"

"Nothing," he said innocently. Lily didn't believe him, but she saw him eying Marlene, and she knew that it was all he wanted.

"Okay," Alice said. "Let's go after breakfast."

"Wait," Lily said. "Just you, right?"

Sirius nodded. "Just me."

"Good." Lily took a quick bite of her eggs, which were starting to get cold. Marlene and Alice were watching her impatiently. This was the first time they'd ever done something like sneak out of school to go to Hogsmeade. But Lily had a good feeling that they wouldn't get caught. No one would even notice they were gone. If they did, they'd figure the girls were just somewhere studying.

Lily swallowed and stood up. "Ready," she said. She felt a shiver of excitement. Alice and Marlene stood up as well. Sirius got up slowly, walking behind them as they left the Great Hall. Alice turned toward the doors leading out to the grounds, but Sirius stopped her. "No," he said, "This way."

The three girls exchanged confused looks, but followed Sirius. He led them upstairs to the fourth floor, and to a large mirror that expanded across the wall. He whispered something, too low for any of them to hear, and a small part of the mirror slid to the side, revealing a small opening. Sirius climbed through and then poked his head out. "Come on," he said.

Marlene was the first to follow, then Alice, and finally Lily, who was beginning to feel nervous. She crawled in after a moment of thought. The mirror slid shut behind her, and suddenly the four of them were standing in darkness. Sirius pulled his wand out and murmured, "Lumos!" The room was suddenly filled with a bright white light. Lily turned away from it.

"This way," Sirius said, crossing the rocky room they were standing in to a tunnel. He hunched over and entered it, moving quickly and quietly. Lily could tell he had done this before. She, Alice, and Marlene followed after him, trying to match his fast pace. They walked for a long time, and Lily's back began to hurt from being bent over for so long.

Finally, they came to an opening. Sirius stopped and gripped a sturdy wooden ladder. He began to climb the short way to the ceiling. When he reached it, he felt around for a moment, then pulled on a latch and pushed. The ceiling gave way, opening into a room above them. Sirius climbed up and out. The girls followed suit.

When they were out of the hidden cellar, Lily noticed that they were in what looked like a bedroom. She glanced out the wide widow set into the wall and realized they were in the Three Broomsticks. "How did you find this?" Lily asked incredulously.

"Never doubt my skills," Sirius grinned. "I can do anything I set my mind to."

"I sure hope not," Marlene muttered.

Alice clapped her hands together. "Let's go!" she said.

"Where to first?" Lily asked.

Alice thought for a moment, one finger resting on her chin. "The book shop," she decided finally. Books were a mutual love between Alice, Marlene, and Lily. The ancient book shop in Hogsmeade was one of their favorite places to visit, because they could never view everything. The shop was constantly getting new books for the girls to admire.

"Okay," Marlene agreed. She took the lead and left the room, Alice and Lily following close behind her. Lily was aware of Sirius trotting along at her heels. She glanced over her shoulder at him and he flashed a grin at her.

After the book store, the girls wandered through the town, going from store to store, Sirius trailing lazily after them. He didn't complain once, and didn't even try to push Lily's buttons. The sun was beginning to set before they decided it was time to return to Hogwarts. They entered the Three Broomsticks, and sneaked carefully up the stairs. They needed Sirius to find the trap door for them, it was so well hidden. He did it quickly, tapping the floor with his wand so that the little door swung open for them.

When they got back to school and crawled back through the mirror, the girls looked awkwardly at Sirius, unsure what to say. Finally, Alice piped up, saying, "Thanks."

"It's no big deal," Sirius replied, shrugging. "I'm going to dinner."

Marlene, Alice, and Lily watched him as he left. Lily had an odd feeling in her stomach that she couldn't explain. Suddenly, she had a whole new perspective on Sirius. He was nicer than she'd given him credit for the past six years. He had shown today that he could be a good friend. Maybe Remus wasn't the only friend of James that she could get along with.

"Well, come on," Marlene said after a moment. "I'm hungry, too. Let's go to dinner."

**A/N: And that's about it... Let me know what you think. :3**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Christmas Wish**

**Chapter Four – Wednesday, December 14****th**

_1977_

On Wednesday afternoon after classes, Lily was on her way to the library when she heard angry voices around the corner. Curious, she peeked out from behind the wall to see James and Sirius arguing. She flattened herself against the wall to listen. From the sound of it, Sirius seemed to be lecturing James about something.

"...need space!" he was saying. "You can't keep trying to invade her personal space all the time. You need to leave her alone. Why do you think she hates you so much?"

"Like you know anything," James retorted. "You've spent about as much time with her as I have."

"More than you," Sirius muttered. He sighed. "Look. I just think that maybe if you try leaving her alone for a bit, or even being _nice_ you'll have a better chance than you do now."

"I am nice!" James protested. Lily tugged on a lock of her hair, frustrated. Who were they talking about?

"Well she certainly doesn't seem to think so," Sirius replied. "She won't even talk to you."

James was silent, so Sirius continued. "I'm just saying, I think Lily would appreciate a little space."

Lily? They were talking about _her_? And how did Sirius get to understand her so well? True, she thought, twirling her hair around on her finger, if James would leave her alone a bit, or a lot, she might learn to like him more. It wouldn't hurt if he was nicer, and less cocky, either. James was so full of himself, so overly-confident, that Lily couldn't help but be annoyed by him.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard stomping feet. She looked around quickly, trying to find a place to hide. Lily had obviously missed the end of the argument. She hurried over to an unlit corner and sat down, hoping whoever was coming around the corner wouldn't notice her. It was James, looking extremely annoyed. He left in a rush, and Lily let out a sigh of relief.

She stood up to leave as well, when she walked into Sirius. She flushed bright red, almost as dark as her hair, and she bent to pick up the items that had spilled out of her bag on the impact. When she looked up, Sirius was watching her with an expression that was torn between amusement and annoyance. "Did you hear that?" he accused, his face pulling into a frown. Annoyance seemed to be his final decision.

"No," Lily said, trying to look angry. She figured if she looked as annoyed as Sirius did, he'd believe she had been somewhere else, and hadn't been listening in.

He raised his eyebrows, still looking suspicious. "I don't believe you," he said, and Lily could tell that he meant it.

Lily pursed her lips. "Fine," she said. "But I didn't hear what you and James were talking about. What makes you think I would even care?"

Sirius began to look uncertain. "Whatever," he said. "I'm just going to go now."

"You do that," Lily said, fixing her bag on her shoulder. She pushed past Sirius and walked down the hallway to the library, like she had originally planned.

Lily had barely reached the library and was sitting down with her Transfiguration book when Alice and Marlene hurried into the library, pink in the face and breathing hard. They'd obviously just come from outside. "Lily," Marlene gasped. "Come outside."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"It snowed really hard last night," Alice said. "And half the school is out there. Look -" She pointed to the window in the library that looked down on the grounds. Lily stood up and went over to the window. Her hands gripped the cold sill as she looked down to see a mass of students running around, charming snow to do all sorts of things. She immediately wished she was outside with them. "Come out with us!"

"I can't," Lily said. "I have homework."

"Can't you be any fun just this once?" Alice begged.

"But Professor McGonagall-"

"Will get over it," Marlene interrupted. "You're her best student. You've never turned _anything_ in late."

"Exactly," Lily said. "And I'm not going to start now."

"_Please_ Lily?" Alice asked. "I'll be your best friend."

"You already are my best friend," Lily pointed out.

"I'll do whatever you want," Alice promised. "Just come outside with us."

Lily glanced out the window. It seemed like the whole of Hogwarts was out there. There were even Slytherins down there, mixing with the other houses for once. It seemed like the holidays were bringing out the best in people. Lily let out a long sigh and turned away from the window, staring at the pile of books she had at her table. It would take her all night to finish if she didn't do it then. She then looked up at Alice and Marlene's hopeful faces. "All right, all right," she said. "I'll come."

"Thank you!" Alice cried, throwing her arms around Lily. "I'll do whatever you want me to. I'll buy you the biggest Christmas present you'll ever get." She continued to babble while Lily packed her bag and threw it over her shoulder. Marlene and Alice chattered excitedly on the way up to the Gryffindor common room, where Lily dropped her things and changed into warmer clothes, adding gloves, a hat, and a scarf to her outfit.

When she went back downstairs to the common room, Marlene looped her arm through Lily's, Alice on her other side, and they walked out to the grounds together. As soon as they stepped outside, snowballs zoomed towards them, missing Lily by inches. She ducked, laughed, and pulled out her wand. She flicked it and sent a pile of snowballs into the crowd of people.

Leaving Marlene and Alice behind, she weaved through the groups, throwing snowballs at whoever she could surprise. She laughed as a group of snowballs slapped against her back, and she turned around to see who had thrown them. She didn't see anyone watching her, but she backed up, clutching her wand. As she took a step backwards, she crashed into someone, which wasn't surprising, considering how large the crowd was.

"Hey, watch where you're going," the person snapped.

"Sorry," Lily retorted, not sorry at all, now that she was being yelled at. "It's kind of hard to avoid you with all these people around." When she looked over her shoulder to see who it was she'd crashed into, her face fell for a second, before it contorted in anger again.

"Well, well, Evans," James said. "Looks like you can't keep yourself away from me."

"I've been trying, actually," Lily informed him. "It's just hard to do when you follow me around all the time."

"Follow you around?" he asked coolly, face blank.

"Yes," Lily said. "I can't go anywhere without finding you."

"Maybe _you're_ following _me_ around."

"You're ridiculous," Lily said, an incredulous look on her face. "I can hardly stand to look at you, and you think I'm following you around?"

"I admit that you're a good actress, Evans. Maybe it's a career you should consider," James said nonchalantly.

"You're so infuriating!" Lily shouted, throwing her hands into the air.

"And yet you keep coming back for more," James replied, a smirk on his face.

"I - you -," Lily spluttered. She gripped her wand in her hand, only an amazing amount of self-restraint keeping her from using it to curse James and wipe the smirk off his face.

"Admit it, Evans," James said, "You love me."

"I'd rather eat a frog," Lily said coldly. Her hands were curled into tight fists and for a minute she was afraid she would snap her wand. She relaxed her hands, trying to shake off her rage.

"Really?" James asked, taking a step toward her. His body was blocking the wind, so Lily could feel the heat that was pulsing through her.

"Really."

He bent down so his face was level with hers. "I'm sure I could change your mind."

Lily knew what he had in mind, so she let go of her self-restraint and lifted her wand, pointing it at his face. There was a bang, and James was on the ground, covered in snow, grabbing at his face. Lily didn't wait to see what damage she'd done. She turned on her heel and dashed away before anyone could see and witness against her.

**A/N: I'm not sure about the ending, but I like the chapter. Let me know what you think. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A Christmas Wish**

**Chapter Five – Friday, December 16****th**

_1977_

In Transfiguration the next morning, Lily was pleased to see James come in with a bandage around his head. She could hear him complaining loudly to someone that Madame Pomfrey hadn't been able to remove all the damage. Lily listened to that with satisfaction, pleased that she had actually done something James would remember. Whether it would teach him a lesson, however, was something she couldn't see.

"What do you even use?" Marlene whispered.

"I don't really remember," Lily said honestly. "I was just really angry and I just used the first spell that came into my head. I don't think it's one I've used before."

"That could have been dangerous," Alice said from Lily's other side.

"But it wasn't," Marlene said. "It was brilliant. He deserved it."

"I think it was sort of mean, Lily," Alice said uncertainly. She wasn't quite as ready to celebrate as Marlene and Lily were.

"Mr. Potter, would you please take your seat?" Professor McGonagall had come out of her office and she sounded exasperated.

"Sorry, Professor," James apologized, looking unabashed. He took his seat, right behind Lily. When McGonagall was faced the other direction, James leaned forward and said, "I hope you're happy, Evans."

"Oh, don't worry," Lily said under her breath, but loudly enough for James to hear, "I am."

Professor McGonagall shot a glare their way, but didn't say anything. Lily knew better than to keep talking. So she was silent for the rest of the class. James tried to win her attention back multiple times, but her fear of McGonagall's wrath was more than enough to help her ignore him. When class was about to end, McGonagall announced, "And I want a roll of parchment next class on the requirements to become an Animagus and why they are necessary."

Lily slid her book back into her bag, stealing a glance at James as she did so. To her surprise, he wasn't looking back at her. Instead, he was whispering with Remus and Sirius, a small smile playing on his lips. Lily knew that meant he was up to something. She just wasn't sure what.

For a second, she felt annoyed that he wasn't watching her like he always was. Then she shook herself, shooing the idea out of her head. She didn't care what he thought. And it was even better this way. Anything to take his mind off of her was good. She just didn't have any idea what it was.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

At lunch, it was the same. James refused to even glance in her direction, and Lily couldn't help feeling confused. What was he up to? Over the past couple of weeks, he'd been pestering her nonstop. It seemed as though every time she happened to spot him, he was looking in her direction. At first it had been thoroughly irritating, but now she was beginning to realize that she missed it.

She didn't like James, of course. The thought was absolutely ridiculous. But on the other hand, the attention was almost kind of nice. She would never admit it to anyone, but deep down, underneath the turmoil of bitter emotions she felt for James, Lily actually kind of liked being fawned over. Was that wrong?

It wasn't wrong, Lily reasoned, but now she was suddenly under James' power. He paid her attention all day every day for just a few measly weeks, and now that he was ignoring her she couldn't keep her mind off him. Maybe this was all part of his plan, to get under her skin and drive her crazy.

James continued to blatantly ignore her for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. In the common room after dinner, Lily was trying to work on some homework but she just couldn't focus.

James and Sirius stood in the corner of the common room, muttering to each other. They were obviously planning something, and it was clear to Lily that they had gotten over their fight from the day before. She looked at them curiously every few minutes, unable to contain herself. Luckily, Alice and Marlene were too occupied with a game of Wizard's Chess to notice.

She wrote a bit on her parchment, already having started on McGonagall's essay. When she looked back over at James and Sirius, it seemed she was going to find out what they were up to. James had stood up and was now clearing his throat. Seeing as he was extremely popular, with everyone but Lily and her friends, everyone turned to look at him, their faces expectant.

"Tonight," James said, "Sirius and I have decided to have a pre-Christmas party."

Lily looked to Alice and Marlene, who looked confused. "Pre-Christmas?" she said. "He wants to have a Christmas party to get ready for a Christmas party later?"

"Sounds like it," Marlene confirmed.

The rest of the Gryffindors seemed pleased with the idea. There was already a small group of people around James, offering to help set up. Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was a ridiculous idea, and the only thing it was going to do was keep everyone awake all night and prevent Lily from getting any homework done, which was exactly the thing that would annoy her most. From the way she caught James smirking at her, she could tell that that was the plan. He was trying to get back at her for cursing him.

By that time, the curse had mostly worn off, and he looked back to normal, except for a red spot on his forehead. He turned away from Lily and joined Sirius in giving orders for party supplies. Lily decided to work on her homework while she still had the chance.

It didn't last very long. Within half an hour, everything was ready. It was already dark outside, so nobody saw any point in waiting to begin. The party started, loud and hectic. Lily sighed and pushed her things into a pile, which she then scooped up and trudged upstairs with. She wasn't going to let James get the better of her. But when she was up in her dormitory by herself, doing homework in the dimmer lighting up there with the sounds of laughter drifting up the stairs, she had to admit that she _was_ letting James get to her. This was what he wanted.

So she left her things fanned out across her bed and went back downstairs, where she pushed through the thick crowd of Gryffindors to find Alice and Marlene. When she reached them, they both had cups in their hands, and Alice immediately handed one to Lily. "Drink it!" she shouted over the noise. "You'll feel better."

Lily wasn't sure what Alice meant by better, but when she took a sip, a golden warmth rolled through her body and her irritation seemed to vanish. She wasn't sure what it was she was drinking, but she knew at least that it wasn't Firewhiskey. She listened silently to Alice and Marlene attempt to talk, having to yell to be heard because everyone else was being so loud.

Time was passing and Lily wasn't quite sure of the time after a while. She sipped more of the drink, feeling better with each mouthful. She was surprised to find herself standing with James, and how she'd ended up there was a bit of a blur. The night was moving quickly, with all the festivities.

"Admit it," James told her, smiling proudly.

"Admit what?" she asked, clutching her cup. The liquid inside was a beautiful golden color that shimmered in the light when it swished around.

"That I throw a good party," he said.

Lily shrugged. "You throw a good party."

"Thank you." James smiled. He glanced at the cup in Lily's hand.

"What are you drinking?" he asked.

"No idea. You brought it in, didn't you?"

James nodded. He took the cup from Lily and examined the drink inside. "Ah, you grabbed some of the Cheery Relaxant."

"Cheery Relaxant?"

"It makes you cheery and relaxed," James said, as if it were obvious. Which, she supposed, it was.

"I see," Lily said, taking her cup back as James held it out to her. She stared at the ground, trying to find something to say. After drinking so much of the Cheery Relaxant, she was finding it impossible to be annoyed with James, so she didn't feel the urge to escape from their conversation. "So what made you want to throw a party?"

It was James' turn to shrug. "I guess I was just in the party mood," he said.

"Well..." She hesitated, and then said, "I think it was a good idea. We needed something to take our minds off of all this work."

"Thanks," James said. His smile seemed genuine. He looked Lily in the eyes for a moment, his own narrowed as if he was thinking hard about something.

"What?" Lily asked, her eyebrows crinkling in confusion. She and James were beginning to get along, much to her surprise.

James began to smirk again. "Well," he said, "You're not trying to run away screaming. It's… odd."

"And that's a bad thing?" Lily asked.

James shook his head. "Not bad, just very different. Usually you can barely contain your anger around me, and yet here you are, as pleasant as can be."

Lily held up her cup in answer.

"I don't think it's just the drink," James mused. "If you hated me as much as you claim to, that drink wouldn't make much of a dent."

"Are you complaining?"

"Of course not," he said quickly. A smirk formed on his face then, and he added, "You know, hate is a very passionate emotion. It's really quite easy to go from hating someone to loving them. I don't suppose you've suddenly had a change of heart?"

Lily let out a short laugh. "Don't be ridiculous."

Her attitude didn't seem to bother James. "Maybe we should do an experiment, Evans."

Lily raised her eyebrows. Something was telling her that now would be the time to walk away, but the cheery drink was inhibiting her functionality as much as alcohol would. "I assume you already have something in mind?"

"Maybe," he said, grinning now.

"What?" Lily was suddenly wary, knowing she would regret ever continuing this conversation with James. Before she had time to think or even react, James had taken a step closer to her and crushed his lips against her own. For only a second she was unable to think, but it didn't take her long to retaliate. She shoved him away from her, ignoring all the stares, and slapped him.

**A/N: Yep.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A Christmas Wish**

**Chapter Six – Saturday, December 17****th**

_1977_

Marlene found Lily in the bathroom the next morning, scrubbing her teeth furiously with her toothbrush. She leaned against the doorway and folded her arms across her chest. "_What_ are you doing?" she asked.

"Trying to wash the taste of James out of my mouth," she spat. Marlene rolled her eyes, and Lily added, "This is going to take weeks."

"You can't just stand here and brush your teeth for three weeks. It'll go away, I promise."

"It better," Lily grumbled. "Because it makes me want to vomit."

"If you do, throw up on James," Marlene smirked.

"Oh trust me, I'm planning on it." Suddenly, her face fell into a frown. "Why are you even up? Alice and I usually have to drag you downstairs."

Marlene's smirk widened into a grin. "I wanted to see if James' face was still red. You slapped him pretty hard."

Lily laughed and ran her toothbrush under the water, then put it back in its container. "I hope it is. Let's go wake Alice up."

Marlene turned away from the bathroom and looked at the sleeping Alice with a gleam in her eye. "Time for payback," she said to herself. Before Lily could stop her, Marlene pounced onto Alice's bed. "Wake up!" she sang.

Alice sat up, blinking rapidly and looking wildly around the room. "What?" she asked. "Who died?"

"No one." Marlene snickered and tried to hide a smile.

Slowly, reality seeped back into Alice. Her brows connected in confusion, and she glanced between Lily and Marlene with wide, blue eyes. "What are you doing up?" she asked Marlene.

Marlene shrugged. "I just felt like getting up early. Is that so wrong?"

"Yes." Alice shook her head and slid out from under the blankets. She shoved Marlene off her bed so she could make it. Lily went to make her own bed while Alice changed into one of her various weekend outfits. Lilyand Marlene were already dressed.

When the three of them were ready, they went downstairs together. Marlene was eager to see what James looked like after the previous night, but she was disappointed to find that he wasn't in the common room when they got there.

"It is kind of early," Lily pointed out. "He likes to sleep in even longer than you."

"Or he's in the hospital wing," Marlene said hopefully.

"Ooh, look, there's Frank," Alice exclaimed suddenly, veering away from Lily and Marlene. The two girls rolled their eyes, but left Alice to her boyfriend.

"Hungry?" Lily asked.

"Always," Marlene smiled. She grabbed Lily's wrist and yanked her out the portrait hole. Lily felt bad for leaving Alice, but she didn't think her friend would care.

Down in the Great Hall, it was not as crowded as it normally was due to the early hour. Lily and Marlene sat down beside each other, and Lily began spooning eggs onto her plate gratefully. Her stomach growled, and she wondered why she was so hungry. She'd eaten the night before… But maybe James' stupid Cheery Relaxant had done something to her stomach as well as her head.

The girls ate in silence, both hungrier than they'd thought. As Lily was swallowing her last forkful of eggs and downing the last of her pumpkin juice, Marlene poked her, hard, in the side. She glanced up, expecting Alice and Frank, but found herself looking at James instead. Sirius was beside him, but Remus was not with them. Lily tried to suppress a giggle at the red mark across his face, but she failed.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Sirius growled.

"Yeah, I do," Lily replied.

"Maybe I should give you something to laugh about," Sirius said, ignoring James' frantic 'No!'s.

"Oh," Lily said, "Are you going to finally give that clown costume a try?"

"Hilarious," Sirius smirked. "I was thinking more like having your face break out into big red zits."

"Go ahead," Lily said. "I doubt you'll be able to figure out the spell for it. It's a little advanced for someone of your level."

"'My level'?" Sirius repeated.

Lily nodded. "You know," she said, "Someone who still has the brain power of an eleven year old?"

"You're really quite witty," Sirius muttered sarcastically. He pulled his wand out, but before Lily could do anything to stop him, James had yanked the wooden stick out of his best friend's hand.

"Leave her alone, Padfoot!" he snarled, practically trembling with anger. Lily stared at him, surprised. James never stood up for her, especially not when it was his best friend tormenting her.

"What is wrong with you?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Look at what she did to you, Prongs."

"To be fair, I think he deserved it," Marlene volunteered.

"You stay out of this," Sirius snapped at her, surprising the group. What happened to being so infatuated with Marlene that he could hardly think?

"I did deserve it," James admitted grudgingly, staring at the ground.

"I'm sorry? Do my ears deceive me?" Lily asked, her green eyes widened with surprise. "Did you just say that I was right?"

"I said I deserved it," James corrected. "Not that you were right."

"What's the difference?" Lily asked, beginning to smile.

"There's a big difference," he snapped. He looked around quickly. "If you tell anyone I said that, I'll-"

"You'll what?" Lily asked. She smiled mockingly, but not in a mean way. "Curse me?"

"You know I would never do that to you, Lily," James said softly. His eyes had a look in them that Lily didn't feel very comfortable with.

"Then there's no way to stop me," she teased, deciding to ignore it.

"Evans," James said in a warning tone.

"Bye, Potter," Lily grinned. She grabbed Marlene's arm and pulled her out of the Great Hall, leaving James to shout empty threats after her.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Later, when the three girls had reunited in the common room, they decided to spend the day in Hogsmeade again. After all, they still needed dresses for the dance. This time, they didn't need Sirius' help to sneak out. Students in sixth and seventh year had been given permission to go in order to buy clothes and accessories for the dance, and to do some late Christmas shopping. They had fun in the dress shops, and both Alice and Lily found dresses they liked.

The dress that Lily picked was not like the one she had dreamed about. This one was a light, forest green with thin straps and an open back. The skirt was a little poofy, but Lily liked it. Little beaded flowers were embroidered on the fabric of the skirt, and the green was slit up the left side to reveal silky white cloth underneath. Alice and Marlene had both stared at Lily, wide-eyed, when she showed off the dress.

"It's absolutely perfect," Alice announced.

Marlene nodded in agreement. "You have to get it," she said.

Alice's dress was a strapless number, with a shiny silver top and a silky yellow skirt. The effect of it against her light skin and inky black hair was gorgeous. Lily figured Frank would do something like fall over when he saw her.

Marlene still claimed to not be going to the dance, although she tried on a few dresses for fun. There was one in particular that Lily loved, a bright red strapless dress with a beaded belt around the waist. The fabric was tight from mid-thigh and up, but beneath that the dress fell like a fountain of fabric. It was cinched on one side, so that the red stopped just short of her calves and revealed white fabric underneath, similar to Lily's. In the back, the red fabric fell to the floor.

"Marlene, that looks amazing on you!" Lily cried. Marlene's evenly tanned skin and feathery brown hair made the dress look even more beautiful.

Marlene smiled shyly when Alice joined in the compliments. "Too bad I'm not going," she said.

"Just come with me," Lily encouraged. "It will be fun, I promise. You don't even have to dance."

Marlene seemed to consider it. She kept running her fingers over the silky fabric. The dress seemed to help her make up her mind. "Alright," she said. "I'll go."

The girls paid for their dresses, and headed over to The Three Broomsticks for lunch. Something felt off during the meal. While Alice chattered away as per usual, Marlene said quietly, staring down at her plate.

"Marlene, what's wrong?" Lily asked during lunch.

She hesitated. "It was just… You and James this morning."

"What?" Lily asked, confused.

"You were being nice to him!"

"No, I wasn't."

"Well, friendly at least."

"Okay, maybe a little," Lily admitted

"It's just weird," Marlene said. "You always complain about how much you hate him, but you two were teasing each other. In a good way."

"If you're worried I'm going to ditch you for him, you can stop worrying," Lily snorted. "I'd rather turn into a unicorn than be friends with him."

Alice decided it was time to put in her two cents. "He's not _that_ bad. I mean, he was nice this morning."

"Yeah, that's a first," Lily grumbled. "Hang out with him and have him be nice to me once every seven years? No thanks."

"You don't give him enough credit," Alice said. "Frank thinks he's a good guy."

"And everything Frank says is the complete truth." Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Stop," Lily said, as Alice opened her mouth to retort. "Let's not fight. This is stupid."

"It's because of James-" Marlene started, but Lily cut her off.

"He's an idiot," Lily said, "and not worth fighting over."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

In the common room that evening, Lily was sitting with Remus, doing homework with him. He was the only one that she trusted to help her with Transfiguration. He was carefully going over the details they'd received in class the previous day, while Lily tried to make sense of it.

While she was scribbling notes down onto a stray piece of parchment, James came in, his hair ruffled from an evening on the Quidditch field. The rest of the team followed him, Sirius in the lead. James spotted Lily and Remus working and made a beeline for them. "Hey, Evans," he said, dropping into a chair.

"Potter," Lily said gruffly. She didn't feel like being mean to him, but after what Marlene had said, she couldn't but try to keep James from thinking there would ever be a chance. Because there wouldn't.

James looked surprised and a little hurt. "What's the matter?" he asked. "We were getting along this morning."

"Look, Po- James." Lily sighed. "We're never going to be friends. We _can't_ be friends. I don't want you to think that we're ever going to have a chance. Because we aren't, okay?"

"Okay," James said softly. "I get that."

"Really?" she asked. "Do you?"

James looked down at the hard wood of the table for a moment, not even blinking. "Yes," he said finally, "I do. I just want to be your friend, Lily. Can you give me that?"

It was Lily's turn to think. "You know," she said, "I don't think I can." She stood up, gathering her things and headed upstairs to her dormitory, all the while ignoring James' protests. When she got upstairs, Marlene was sitting on her bed, staring out the window. She jumped, startled, when Lily walked in.

"Hey," Lily said, dropping her things on her bed. She would just have to get Remus to help her in the morning, if he wasn't already spending his Sunday doing something else.

"Hi, Lils." Marlene took a deep breath. "Hey, I have something I want to tell you."

"What is it?" Lily asked, plopping down on her own bed.

She opened her mouth, but then closed it. "Never mind."

Lily gave her a look, but decided not to press her. Leaning back on her bed, Lily couldn't help but think that everyone was being strange today.

**A/N: Okay, let me know what you think. I already have a plan for my next chapter, but I want it to be a surprise. I'm not sure if you'll like it or not… Anyhoo, let me know what you think of this. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own anything that looks familiar.**

**A Christmas Wish**

**Chapter Seven – Monday, December 19****th**

_1977_

In the morning, Lily sat up and stretched, blinking in the bright sunlight that poured into the dormitory. She glanced over to see Alice propped up in her bed, a book open. Her blue eyes scanned across the page. Lily stood up and Alice looked over at her before marking her page. They were silent as they changed into their school robes, trying not to wake Marlene, and went down to the common room.

"I think there's something going on with Marlene," Lily informed Alice.

"What? I thought we figured that out on Saturday. She was just worried about you and James." Alice looked confused, an expression that was becoming more common for her.

"No," Lily shook her head, "There's something more."

"What do you mean?"

"She wanted to tell me something that night, but she wouldn't say what it was." Lily paused. "She seemed afraid to say anything."

"You don't think something is wrong, do you?" Alice looked less confused, and more worried. "What if it's something serious?"

"I don't know. It's not like we can force her to say anything."

"I know." Alice sighed.

"So what are we going to do?" Lily asked.

"I have no idea."

It was Lily's turn to sigh. The girls sat in silence, staring into the everlasting flames of the fireplace. Twenty minutes later, when more people began to trickle down the stairs, into the common room, Lily stood up. "I'm going to get Marlene."

"Okay." Alice eyed the boy's staircase, which told Lily that she was waiting for Frank to come downstairs.

Holding back a smile, Lily went back upstairs to wake Marlene. To her surprise, Marlene was already awake. Not only that, but she was dressed, her bed was made, and she'd even done her hair. Usually she left it down, but today she'd twisted it into a braided bun. Lily looked at her in surprise. "Whoa," she said. "You look nice. What's the occasion?"

"There is no occasion. I just felt like doing my hair today." Marlene shrugged, not meeting Lily's eyes. Her brown eyes drifted down to the blanket, and she picked at it with her nails.

Lily raised her eyebrows. She was nearly dying with curiosity, but decided she would let Marlene tell her on her own time. "Ready for breakfast?"

"Yes," Marlene said. She stood up, her robes falling into a black curtain around her. She followed Lily downstairs, to where Alice and Frank were cuddled together on the couch.

"Ew." Lily rolled her eyes, but for once, Marlene didn't join her. It was a daily ritual for them to tease Alice and Frank. She shot a glance over her shoulder, but Marlene still wouldn't meet her eye. Shrugging inwardly, Lily looked back at Alice. "Coming?"

"Breakfast?" Alice sighed. Lily nodded. "Can Frank sit with us? Just this once?"

"So I can vomit?" Lily asked. Marlene snorted.

"Please, Lily?" Alice pleaded. Lily and Marlene hated having breakfast with Alice and Frank because they were so disgustingly cute. Alice ate breakfast with them every day, except for the occasional times she sat with Frank.

"Fine," Lily sighed, giving in.

After breakfast, Alice and Frank wandered off to be alone, and Lily decided it would be a good time to question Marlene. She started, rather hesitantly, with, "Hey, Marlene?"

"Yes?"

"What's up?"

Marlene titled her head to the side slightly. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, yesterday you were kind of distant. And on Saturday... You wouldn't tell me what you wanted to say."

"Oh." Marlene flushed red. "It's nothing."

"If it's nothing, then why can't you tell me?" Lily challenged.

"Because...," Marlene trailed off. She took in a breath, and then started again. "I'm embarrassed. And I don't want you to get mad at me."

"Why would I get mad at you?" Lily was confused now.

"You will. Trust me."

"I won't!" Lily promised. "Please, just tell me."

Marlene looked down at the floor again, turning redder still. "It's just a boy," she whispered.

"A boy?" Lily was more confused than ever. Marlene almost never talked about boys, had never show much interest in having a boyfriend. "What boy? Why would that make me mad?"

"It's James."

For a moment, Lily didn't know how to respond. She stared at her friend, open-mouthed, while her brain raced to find something to say. Marlene looked more embarrassed than ever, and a little hurt. Lily sucked in a deep breath, and said, "Wow. James. Potter, right?"

"Yes, James Potter," Marlene all but snapped.

Lily took a step back in surprise. "Sorry. I'm just a little... Surprised. So you like him?"

Marlene nodded. "For a few weeks, anyways."

"I see. What brought this on?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," Marlene said. "You don't really _plan_ on liking someone, Lily."

"What are you so upset about?" Lily demanded. Marlene was practically throwing a fit.

Marlene sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little confused is all. And I don't want you to be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," Lily assured her. "Just a tad disgusted is all."

"Stop!" Marlene protested. "There's nothing wrong with him."

"I know," Lily said. "Sorry. I just think he's annoying."

"I think he's sweet." Marlene half smiled, her eyes drifting up to the ceiling.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Do?"

"Are you going to ask him out?" Lily nearly choked on the words, and then shuddered afterwards. Marlene glared at her before replying.

"I'm not sure. Should I ask him to the Christmas Ball?"

"Yes!" Lily said. "Maybe then he'll stop bugging me."

"Are you _sure_ you won't be mad at me?" Marlene pressed.

"Positive," Lily said. If Marlene asked James, and he said yes, then she'd have two problems off her back. James would leave her alone and Marlene would be going to the dance.

"Okay." Marlene's eyes lit up. Lily was surprised at how out of character it seemed for Marlene to be so excited over something so... _girly_. But Lily wasn't going to say anything. "I'll go ask him right now!"

"Oh," Lily said, taken aback. "Alright."

As she watched Marlene hurry away, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd said the right thing.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

As awkward as it was, Lily was glad to watch Marlene and James. They sat in the corner of the common room together, whispering with one another. They were both smiling, and they both seemed rather shy, which Lily found funny. Neither James nor Marlene were the least bit shy. Suddenly, Lily felt lonely. Alice had Frank, and now Marlene had James. Lily was by herself.

Much to her surprise, though that seemed to be the only thing she was feeling that day, Sirius sat down next to her. "Hullo, Evans."

"Black." Lily raised her eyebrows. "Have you forgiven me?"

"Sure. It's all in the past." Sirius gave her a lopsided grin.

Lily nodded her head to Marlene and James. "Aren't you jealous?"

"Nah." Sirius shook his hair out of his face. "I'm over her like a bridge."

"What?"

"I don't like her anymore."

"Aah," Lily said. "So who do you like now?"

Sirius grinned again. "She's a Ravenclaw sixth year. Her name is Rachel."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I assume you invited her to the ball?"

"Of course. And she said yes."

"Of course."

"So who are you going to the ball with?" Sirius asked.

"Looks like no one," Lily answered. She shrugged like she didn't care, but inside she gave a sigh.

Sirius could tell. "Isn't there anyone you want to go with?"

"Not really."

"Well, you could always ask Remus."

"That would be too weird."

"Why?" Sirius wondered.

"Because we're just friends. I don't want to make anything awkward," Lily said.

"Remus doesn't think of you like that," Sirius assured her.

"I know, but I still think it would be awkward."

"If you say so."

Lily looked back over to James and Marlene. Obviously, they had gotten over their shyness. Now they were snogging, and they didn't look shy at all. Lily rolled her eyes. It seemed like Christmas was driving everyone insane.

"Wishing that was you?" Sirius asked, teasing.

"Not even close, Black," Lily answered. She was beginning to like this, this sort-of friendship she had going on with Sirius. He wasn't nearly as bad as she'd thought for the past six and a half years. Perhaps it was that he'd grown up some, and had stopped being quite so immature. Now, he was just a happy, funny goofball that occasionally had anger problems and was still a bit too full of himself for Lily's taste.

"I don't understand why you won't give him a chance," Sirius said.

"Well it doesn't matter now," Lily said lightly. "He's with my best friend."

"That's not going to last long," Sirius said off-handedly.

"What do you mean?"

"You know how James is. He never stays with any girl for long. Marlene will be lucky if she lasts until the day after the ball."

Lily bit her lip. She knew that Sirius was right, and suddenly regretted telling her friend to go for it. Marlene was just going to get hurt in the end. Lily really couldn't be friends with James now. She would never be able to be friends with someone who could so easily crush her best friend's heart to bits. "You're right. I never should have encouraged her."

Sirius shrugged. "It's a bit late for regrets now, Evans."

Lily said nothing. After a few minutes of silence, Sirius yawned widely and got to his feet. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Nighty night, Evans. It was nice chatting with you." Then he leaned over and ruffled her hair, in the way Lily suspected a brother might. To her surprise, she found in endearing instead of annoying.

"Good night, Black," Lily replied, smiling slightly as she smoothed her hair down. She glanced over at James and Marlene again, and decided that she'd had all the snogging she could handle. She got up and hurried for the stairs, hoping to block out the unnatural memory with sleep.

**A/N: Before anyone gets mad at me for an overused plot line, please just wait and keep reading. **


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